Index / Language / Records / Portuguese / Regional dialects
Lisboeta Portuguese
European Portuguese as Lisbon speaks it: unstressed vowels vanish, every final s is sh, and ei sounds like ai.
Lisbon
6sound rules17words and phrases9everyday lines
Neutral fine anywhere Casual friends, street Vulgar swearing Insult aimed at a person
How it sounds
Left: the sound, in pine. Middle: standard spelling. Right: meaning.
S1Unstressed vowels disappear
The defining sound of European Portuguese. Whole syllables collapse into consonant clusters, which is why Brazilians find it hard.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| p'quenu | pequeno | small |
| t'lfon' | telefone | phone |
| d'sculp' | desculpe | sorry |
| obrigad' | obrigado | thank you |
NoteStart here. It is the difference people hear first.
S2Every s before a consonant or at the end is sh
Like Rio, but everywhere and always.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| doish | dois | two |
| shtásh bõ? | estás bom? | are you well? |
| ash pessoash | as pessoas | the people |
S3Ei sounds like ai
A Lisbon feature not shared by Porto or Brazil.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| laite | leite | milk |
| primairu | primeiro | first |
| aixo | eixo | axis |
S4Tu with its own verb, and você avoided
Tu takes the second person form. Você to someone's face can sound rude; use the name or o senhor, a senhora.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| tu queres? | você quer? (Brazil) | do you want some? |
| estás bom? | você está bem? (Brazil) | are you well? |
| A senhora deseja? | Você deseja? (Brazil) | what would you like, madam? |
S5Estar a + infinitive, not the gerund
Portugal says estou a fazer where Brazil says estou fazendo.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| estou a fazer | estou fazendo (Brazil) | I'm doing |
| estamos a ver | estamos vendo (Brazil) | we're watching |
| o que estás a dizer? | o que você está dizendo? (Brazil) | what are you saying? |
S6Pronouns after the verb
In a plain statement the pronoun follows the verb with a hyphen. Brazil puts it in front.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| diz-me | me diz (Brazil) | tell me |
| chama-se Ana | se chama Ana (Brazil) | her name is Ana |
| vejo-te amanhã | te vejo amanhã (Brazil) | see you tomorrow |
Words and phrases
17 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Fillers and reactions
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| pá | pá | filler, like "man" (ó pá)casual |
| bué | muito | very, loads (Lisbon)casual |
| fixe | fixe | coolcasual |
| porreiro | porreiro | greatcasual |
| giro | giro | nice, cuteneutral |
| chato | chato | boring, annoyingneutral |
| se faz favor | por favor | please (how Lisbon says it)neutral |
W2People
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| o gajo / a gaja | o cara (Brazil) | the guy / the girlcasual |
| o miúdo / a miúda | o garoto (Brazil) | kid, young personcasual |
| parvo | parvo | idiotinsult |
W3Café and table
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| a bica | o café | espresso (Lisbon)neutral |
| a imperial | o chope (Brazil) | a small draught beerneutral |
| o pequeno-almoço | o café da manhã (Brazil) | breakfastneutral |
| o pastel de nata | o pastel de nata | custard tartneutral |
| a tasca | a tasca | a small family restaurantneutral |
W4No filter
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| foda-se! | foda-se! | damn it!vulgar |
| caraças! | caraças! | wow! damn! (milder)casual |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1At the pastelaria
Coffee is drunk standing at the counter.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Uma bica e um pastel de nata, se faz favor | Um café e um pastel de nata, por favor | an espresso and a custard tart, please |
| Queria uma torrada | Queria uma torrada | I'd like some toast |
| A conta, se faz favor | A conta, por favor | the bill, please |
L2Getting around
Hills, trams and a rechargeable card.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Apanho o 28 | Pego o bonde 28 (Brazil) | I'm taking tram 28 |
| o cartão Viva Viagem | o cartão Viva Viagem | the transit card |
| o elétrico / o autocarro / o comboio | o bonde / o ônibus / o trem (Brazil) | tram / bus / train |
L3Meeting people
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Então, tudo bem? | Então, tudo bem? | so, how are things? |
| Bora beber uma imperial? | Vamos tomar um chope? | fancy a beer? |
| Está bué fixe | Está muito legal (Brazil) | it's really cool |